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Moody's Interfax Rating Agency specializes in credit risk analysis and assigns national scale ratings which are intended as relative measures of accepted risks and not constrained by the country's ceiling. The national scale ratings reflect the Agency's opinion of relative creditworthiness of debt issues and issuers within a country. In addition to its core ratings business, Moody's Interfax publishes credit opinions, research and commentary used by market participants. Moody's Interfax provides its rating services to Russian financial institutions, non-financial companies, regional and municipal governments.
Moody's Interfax is the leading national scale rating agency with more than 150 ratings published.
Moody's Interfax Rating Agency was established on the basis of Interfax Rating Agency, founded in 1997, which entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with the world's recognized rating business leader Moody's Investors Service in 2001. In November 2003, Moody's Investors Service acquired about 20% in the Russian agency and thus became its shareholder. In June 2004, Moody's increased its ownership of the Russian agency to become a holder of controlling stake. The current ownership structure is as follows: Interfax holds 49%, Moody's Investors Service – 51%.
Since early 1990s, Interfax International Information Group has been the leading provider of information on Russia and CIS to international community and is among the world’s most widely utilized sources for the most recent information. To date, Interfax Group includes a network of national, regional, and industrial information agencies, operating under the Interfax umbrella in Russia, CIS and a number of Central and East European countries, as well as China.
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Mikhail Komissar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Interfax Group, and John Rutherfurd, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody's Corporation
Moscow, June 2004 | |
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and John Rutherfurd, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody's Corporation
Kremlin, November 2003
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| Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly hailed the strategic cooperation agreement that had been signed between Moody's Investors Service and the Interfax Rating Agency and expressed hope that the deal "will contribute to the growth of economic confidence in Russia." |
The international rating agency Moody's Investors Service started its business in 1900. The company rates governments and commercial entities in more than 100 countries. Moody’s Investors Service is among the world’s most respected and widely utilized sources for credit ratings, research and risk analysis. Moody’s provides research data and analytic tools for assessing credit risk, and publishes market-leading credit opinions, deal research and analysis, serving more than 9,300 customer accounts at some 2,400 institutions around the globe.
Moody’s independence and integrity have earned the trust of capital market participants worldwide. Its ratings and analysis track debt covering more than 100 sovereign nations, about 12,000 corporate issuers, approximately 29,000 public finance issuers, and more 96,000 structured finance obligations.
| Moody's Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer John Rutherfurd described his company's purchase of shares in the Interfax Rating Agency as a new stage in the development of the Russian rating business. He expressed confidence that cooperation between Moody's and Interfax would give clear guidelines both to financial market participants and to borrowers, and that demand for ratings would grow among Russian companies, governmental bodies, and media groups. | |
